


Before the Vast Heavens

by Archaema



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Floof, Pharmercy, Pharmercy Week 2018, ancient poetry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 19:49:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15736200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Archaema/pseuds/Archaema
Summary: Fareeha and Angela spend time in the great expanses of the southwestern United States on a much-needed vacation.





	Before the Vast Heavens

**Author's Note:**

> I expect to get ~3 pieces done for this week, so here is the first, for day 1: camping.

"How did you manage to get the whole week off for both of us?" Fareeha Amari remembered asking Angela a week ago. It had been a shock. They had been deployed constantly, Overwatch, even in the shadows, never close to lacking for missions and research to be done. 

"I told Winston that if we did not have the time off, we were going to start doing the most unseemly things on his computer consoles." At Angela's answer, Fareeha had nearly laughed and coughed up her coffee that morning. 

It had been a light joke, a tension-easing moment before they had ridden into the firing line that night, engaging in another of the all too frequent skirmishes with Talon and their agents, who had once again been causing dangerous mischief. 

Truth be told, Fareeha had thought it was going to end up being cancelled, and they would never see something that was not a Watchpoint or an operational zone ever again. 

Angela and Fareeha were, though, at that very moment, putting the finishing touches on their white and yellow tent. The temporary domicile was small, domed, and was emblazoned with the logo of Overwatch on the side. A soft breeze barely affected the sturdy but ultralight fabric, and a soft whir of its internal battery and recharging device allowed a soft glow from inside to illuminate it just enough to see their small campsite.

"So, rations? Or did you want to cook a dinner?" Angela settled in on a collapsible chair they had brought, as she leaned back. She kept her eyes on Fareeha, unwilling to let her get out of her sight for too long after going for so many months without even the chance for a weekend getaway. A full vacation felt like an impossible dream.

"Well, I did pack a few things," Fareeha replied, hand on her hip as she considered. "It's our first night out here, so I can fix something easy." She bent over to go through one of the bags of gear and supplies they had brought along. "I may have planned out every meal, actually." There was a grin in her voice that Angela could not see, but she could visualize it flawlessly.

"Oh, well I will not impede your culinary conquests," Angela said, with a quick laugh and a soft bite at her lip. "Should I ask what other supplies you brought along with us?"

"You'll find out later," Fareeha said, looking over her shoulder with an eyebrow lifted and a sly smirk. "If you're good."

"Fareeha Amari, you know perfectly well I am never, ever, under any circumstances, not good," Angela said, lifting her nose and looking away, a blush sneaking into her cheeks.

"Believe me, I know. You're good." There was a soft rustling as she pulled free a small cast iron pot. A wire with a small, white and blue orb came next, and then a few small containers. "Especially when you're being bad."

"No one has ever been able to obtain evidence of said badness," Angela said, with a quiet 'hmph' quickly after.

"Consider me an eye witness, ya amar." The Egyptian had moved on to arranging a bundle of brush and simple wood in a pile, surrounded by stones she had gathered from the perimeter of their campsite. 

"Fair enough, but I have sufficient evidence to hold against you, too." Angela gave a tilt of her head and looked back to where Fareeha was at work. "Do you need any help?" "No, it's all right. This won't be long, and when I said we should go camping out here, I had no intention of making you do most of the work, since I chose somewhere so unexpected." Unexpected, perhaps, for being at Gibraltar, but Fareeha knew many had camped the same lands before.

In every direction, there stretched gold and red, the colors of dry dirt and rock. The southwestern United States was a place neither had been, but if there was a place on Earth that they could find privacy and escape from Overwatch, they felt it was going to be one of the best bets, outside of being truly cut off from all civilization. There, at least, they could still use their mobile devices to contact rescue and medical services. 

Of course, they had seen pictures before coming, but it was wholly different in person to see the rolling hills, scrub brush dotting the landscape and nestled against rock formations both small and as massive as mountains. Every angle was either rock formations of ancient natural beauty or the distant horizon, a fading heat haze shimmering far away.

"I don't feel quite right doing nothing," Angela said after a few moments, frowning as she leaned forward to watch Fareeha put finishing touches on the stone circle and begin prodding at the dried tufts at the bottom of the fully assembled pyramid of wood and brush. 

"I'm sure I'll think of something," Fareeha said. "Besides, you're keeping me company. I can never be bored when you're around, even if we are doing absolutely nothing at all." She leaned down, and began blowing a long, slow current against the newly lit fire. A distinctly arboreal scent was carried in the first wisps of smoke, a earthy tint that gave it a pleasant taste in the nose. 

"You should have lead with your charm, not those cheesy pickup lines." Angela spoke through her laughter, shaking her head.

"Look, I had a lot of practice at those, and they worked more than you want to know." Fanning with her hand, the flames grew and strengthened, beginning to lick at the more substantial branches.

"Ah yes, Lena did mention you had quite the reputation in HSI for your combination of somber duty and, what would we call it, off base pursuits?"

"Would you believe I was always really hoping to find someone that'd last?"

"You know, I would," Angela said with a firm nod. "You put up such a tough exterior, but we both know you're a softy at heart."

"Maybe not that soft, but..." A shrug of her shoulders, and she looked up toward Angela. "The last few years were tough. Too much into my work. I liked it, I'm good at it, and I want to make sure the world becomes a just place, but the balance? The one we talk about so much and still both fail at making happen? It was so much worse."

"You're a driven person. So am I." Angela smiled as she slid forward from the chair to settle on the ground, long legs crossed in front of her lazily. In her simple Overwatch cropped tank top and black shorts, she had been ready for the warmth of the desert. "I think I would have burned out if it weren't for meeting you."

"Yeah, I think that drove a lot of people away for both of us." The fire had begun to dance vibrantly before them, so Fareeha reached back to the iron pot and the wire. With a tap of a small button on one of the orbs, it glowed with a soft blue light and hovered in place. The pot hung neatly below the emitters, above the fire. "It never really clicked, anyway."

"Quite the same. People wanted my research or my image, but never me." Angela sighed softly, before she found Fareeha's fingertip against her lips with a gentle press.

"Enough of that." Fareeha gave a warm smile, ochre eyes catching ahold of Angela's blues. "We're together, now."

Angela nodded, and kissed Fareeha's finger before looking deeply into the fire.

Fareeha popped open her containers, and with a pair of tongs, pulled the lid off the pot. In went a few vegetables, which promptly began to sizzle. 

Side-by-side, they sat before the fire, as Fareeha added ingredients, until before them was a bubbling, savory stew. 

"Traditionally it's moose meat," Fareeha finally said with a half-grin. "This is a good synthetic substitute, though. Never can tell the difference." 

"Something from home?" Angela took a slow breath, as if to confirm the scent she had been enjoying. "From Sam?"

"Yeah, I picked it up years ago." It was a somewhat sanguine memory, of a time long ago. A time when she had a whole family. It must have shown on her face, as Angela put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a light squeeze.

"I'm sure he'll be happy you tried to make it." 

"I bet, he'll probably ask me if it came out right, too. He's a tough critic."

"I'll personally vouch for you."

"Thanks, babe." 

They were both fighting back infectious giggles, before Fareeha leaned back, looking up at the darkening sky. The first stars were already beginning to gleam in the east, while a gradient of lavender and pink saturated the sky to the west. Angela followed her gaze, taking in the wide expanse of the fading sunlight against the horizon.

"Wow," was all that Angela managed, to a nod from Fareeha. 

There was not much need for words in the moment, as the sun's light began to slip away. The soft glow from the tent and the flickering fire helped keep the campsite lit just enough that, after many long moments of comfortable silence spent shoulder-to-shoulder and enjoying the end of the day, Fareeha could pull out a pair of bowls and spoons. She gingerly ladled out portions for each of them, and they continued to watch as they enjoyed the rich meal. 

"Oh, it's good," Angela murmured after a mouthful that followed a moment of quick puffs of breath to cool it slightly.

"Well, yeah, of course it is." There was always a hint of cockiness to Fareeha, her pride ready to swell, particularly at any words of praise or appreciation from Angela. It earned her a mock glare, before they both sank into finishing the meals. The long day of walking to their campsite had built a surprising appetite, and Angela had always had a generous capacity for meals thanks to the nanites she had in her bloodstream.

With a clink of utensils on bowls, the dishes were set aside. A quick spray of cleaning solution left them as good as new, and Fareeha tucked them away.

"My god, the stars." Fareeha looked over at Angela, who had her neck craned back to watch the brilliant display in the heavens. Against the black and deep blue of the night sky, glittering stars lit the world like a tapestry. White and purple, blue and gold, intertwined in a soft haze that climbed toward the zenith above, the Milk Way itself on display for the pair.

"I'd almost forgotten, it's been so long," Fareeha whispered. Missions and deployments at bases and cities had rarely let her see the sky unobstructed and free of light pollution. "When it's like this, you can almost feel all those people ages ago looking up and trying to find meaning in the stars."

"Superstition," Angela said with a soft laugh, but it was quiet and swallowed up by awe. "I know it all seems silly now, but what could they know, of course." 

"Is it comforting or frightening to feel so small?" Fareeha reached out and gently pulled at Angela's shoulder, as she laid down on a blanket she had spread behind them earlier. Angela took her hand, and joined her, settling so they could gaze upward.

"Orion, over there," Angela said, pointing up with her free hand. "I can never see that much from the bases and camps." She let out a slow breath, then sighed. "We know so much about them, now, but the sight is raw. Like all the books and papers can't compare to seeing them laid out in front of you. I see us, as humanity, butt up against our limits so often, that I can't help but feel we're not all that significant, sometimes." 

"It's hard to accept being powerless, isn't it?" Fareeha squeezed Angela's hand, then took in a slow breath. 

"Particularly when you feel what you do is so vital." Angela sensed more than saw Fareeha's nod in agreement, but it made her smile. Few were the people that understood her so well, and fewer still were ones that she understood in turn. Indeed, she was likely to say it was only one person. "I do not feel powerless with you at my side."

The words prompted Fareeha to lean over, and plant a gentle kiss to Angela's cheekbone, before she settled back.

"A good night to look at the stars together. Orion, like you said. There's Taurus." Fareeha paused a moment, taking in a slow breath. She then spoke softly, words from memory that were held deeply. 

 

"Tonight I've watched,  The moon and then

the Pleiades

go down

The night is now

half-gone; youth

goes; I am

in bed alone."

 

There was a long silence as the words hung in the air, dissipating into the vastness of the nighttime that surrounded on them, encroaching far more comfortingly than it had any right to be.

"I recognize it," Angela said finally, squeezing Fareeha's hand. "I'd no idea you knew it, though." 

"I may be an engineer, but we have to do some humanities." 

"That's pretty specific source material, don't you think?"

"Maybe a bit. I just remembered it a couple of years ago, and it started to feel, I don't know, more poignant. It resonated more." Their conversation was barely audible, meant to be a secret shared between them.

"Growing older, alone," Angela said quietly. She was the one to lean over toward Fareeha, at that thought. She pulled herself over her, straddling her. Blonde hair cascaded down around them like a veil, her hair ties removed after their meal. "Without love, without companionship. Without the right woman to share our life experiences."

Fareeha squeezed her eyes closed for a moment, but it was not long. She could not long look away from the Swiss above her, even though the truth of what she said brought tears to her eyes. Tears she found mirrored in Angela's blue eyes. 

Those tears were not entirely sad. 

"I'm so glad we found each other." Fareeha reached up and cupped Angela's cheek, who nuzzled into her palm while refusing to take her eyes off of her. "You can stay right there. You're better than the stars."

Angela gave half a laugh, her welled up emotions enough to make words difficult.  

"Just like I'd turn my back on Heaven for you." 

"I love you." The shared words were perfect harmony.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let us know if you liked our writing, and feel free to leave any constructive criticism in comments here or in asks at our Tumblrs, including if you spy a missing tag:  
> http://archaema.tumblr.com/ or http://offkeelworld.tumbr.com/


End file.
